Any hopes Class AA fans had of a rematch of last year's state finals and this year's season opener between Benedictine and GAC were dashed on Friday when Fitzgerald clobbered Benedictine in one of the bigger surprises of the tournament.
The Cadets began to show signs of vulnerability in Round 3 when they had to rally to beat Lovett 41-40. Once again, they dug themselves a hole on Friday and had no answer for the Purple Hurricanes' run game.
Now, only four teams remain. Here's a glimpse at next week's matchups, which will determine which two teams travel to the dome for the state championship:
The Region 6 rivals meet for the second time this season. The No. 1 seeded Spartans beat Brooks County 23-12 and the No. 4 seeded Knights beat Macon County 33-26 to set up the rematch. GAC beat Pace 33-13 on Oct. 9 and the Spartans are a win away from their second straight trip to the AA semifinals.
The Spartans are on a 12-game win streak since losing their season opener to Benedictine, the team that beat them in last year's Class AA championship. This is GAC's fifth trip to the semifinals.
The Knights are the lone No. 4 seed remaining in the playoffs, regardless of classification. In their eighth season as a football program, the Knights are in the semifinals for the first time in school history and will be aiming for two firsts - a trip to the finals and a win over the Spartans.
Pace is 0-2 against GAC in the all-time series.
Fitzgerald (12-1) at Jefferson County (11-2)
Fitzgerald, a No. 2 seed from Region 1, stunned the top-ranked, undefeated, defending state champions Benedictine on the road to advance to the semifinals for the second year in a row and 10th time in program history.
They lost 44-41 to GAC in last year's semis.
For the Purple Hurricanes, Friday's win over Benedictine served as revenge for the 51-7 loss the Cadets handed them in the second round of the 2013 AA playoffs.
Now it's on to the Warriors, a No. 1 seed from Region 3. The two teams have played twice before, splitting regular season contests in '12 and '13.
Jefferson County edged Rabun County 31-28 on a last-second field goal to advance to the semifinals for the first time in the program's history, which dates back to 1995.
For complete playoff results, click here.
